Brushing and Flossing

When you have braces, you need to brush and floss your teeth after every meal. This will help keep your teeth and gums healthy as you go through your treatment. Do you need help choosing the right toothpaste, toothbrush, or floss? Let Dr. Cochran know and we’ll help pick the right products for you.

Brushing With Braces

Make sure to brush your teeth for two minutes after every meal using a small-headed toothbrush with soft bristles. If you prefer, you can use an electric toothbrush instead to make brushing more effective. Here are some helpful tips:

• Brush the outside and inside surfaces of your teeth with small, gentle, circular motions while keeping the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gum line.• Brush your teeth’s chewing surfaces as well as the inside of your front teeth making short and gentle back-and-forth motions. • Make sure to clean the area around your brackets or other appliances.

Flossing With Braces

To keep your teeth and braces squeaky clean, floss after every meal. This will also help you complete your treatment on time! To floss with braces you can use a floss threader or special orthodontic floss, which will help you thread the floss behind each wire. Here are some flossing tips:

• Wrap the ends of the floss around your index fingers leaving a few inches of floss between them. • Using a back-and-forth motion, slide the floss between your teeth.• Don’t forget to floss the sides of each tooth under the gum line in order to remove plaque and any stray pieces of food.• Repeat until you’re done with all of your teeth.

Is your floss not helping you remove all of the food particles between your teeth and braces? Consider a water flosser!